Money raised in S.D. mayor’s race

*PAC stands for political action committee. Totals include money spent in June primary.

Source: Campaign finances disclosures

While City Councilman Carl DeMaio and Rep. Bob Filner have spent much of the San Diego mayor’s race trying to paint each other as controlled by special interests, those interests have been amassing cash and buying up blocks of air time for a big final push for their preferred candidate in the Nov. 6 election.

To back Filner, a Democrat, the city’s firefighters union has spent about $531,000 to produce TV ads and buy up time slots. Three other labor-backed political action committees have raised an additional $1 million for the fall effort to help Filner and oppose DeMaio. Unions contributing to the cause represent electrical workers, teachers, hotel employees and food workers.

To back DeMaio, a Republican, developers and business leaders have raised nearly $500,000 in two separate PACs. The Lincoln Club, a pro-business group that includes some of San Diego’s wealthiest business leaders, has poured $276,000 into a PAC created to oppose Filner along with other big donors such as the California Apartment Association and the Association of General Contractors.

The latest financial disclosures, which record money raised and spent through Sept. 30, show DeMaio continues to have a clear financial advantage over Filner. DeMaio has raised nearly $2.7 million overall, including $776,000 of his own money, and has about $473,000 in cash on hand for the race’s final month. Filner has amassed about $794,000 overall but had only $56,000 left (Filner’s debts actually exceed his cash on hand by roughly $7,300).

The influx of special-interest money is expected to push total spending in the race beyond $10 million, easily making it the most expensive mayoral election in San Diego history. That total includes money spent in the crowded June primary, which whittled the race to two finalists. The most expensive race — more than $5.5 million — had been the 2008 re-election campaign of Mayor Jerry Sanders, who defeated big-spending businessman Steve Francis.

The spending spree for this mayor’s race is in large part because of a court case that struck down several of the city’s campaign-finance laws earlier this year, making it easier for donors, interest groups and political parties to pour large sums into city elections.

DeMaio and Filner have sparred on the campaign trail over which of them is more beholden to special interests. Each disputes the characterization of his supporters as special-interest groups even though developers and labor are widely considered the definition of a “special interest.”

DeMaio described his business backers as small-business owners and job creators “not a bunch of labor union bosses that sit in Sacramento and Washington and decide who the mayor is going to be.”

“Bob Filner has become the special-interest candidate in this race and that’s not just me saying that. It’s backed up by the actual contributions received by all the various super PACs,” DeMaio said. “Labor unions are pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars … into his candidacy. So, basically, he’s become their candidate. He’s bankrolled by one specific group.”

Filner has repeatedly said he objects to unions being labeled as special interests. He said their contributions are derived from a few dollars taken from payroll deductions rather than large sums from wealthy donors who support DeMaio, such as U-T San Diego Publisher Douglas Manchester.

“I don’t care how you define special interests, I am for the working people of San Diego and our neighborhoods — not the developers, lobbyists and others who have projects before the city,” Filner said. “And I’m proud to have the support of most of the employees who run our city. I’ll put up my machinists, carpenters, restaurant workers, teachers, firefighters, lifeguards, and police officers against DeMaio’s lobbyists, developers, lawyers and other special interests any day of the week.”

Here’s how the overall money race breaks down: Money raised by candidates themselves, including those who lost in the June primary, $5.4 million; money raised by political action committees supporting or opposing candidates, $2.9 million; independent spending by other groups, such as firefighters and police officers, $908,000; contributions and spending by political parties to back candidates, $847,000.

Frank De Clercq, head of the firefighters union, said the money from labor is in direct response to years of union-bashing by DeMaio and the hope that a Democrat can break what he says is the influence developers have on City Hall.

“He’s been blaming and vilifying the public labor unions in this city and using them as a scapegoat,” he said of DeMaio. “And I think Mr. Filner’s position is that they’re not to blame. And I think it’s shown by our eight years of concessions. We’ve done everything we can to work with the city and it doesn’t mean much to DeMaio. And, again, this is all driven by the special-interest groups — the developers, the builders — people that have had control of this city the last 50 years. We want to see that all get opened up and start bringing some of those dollars into the neighborhoods.”

T.J. Zane, president and chief executive of the Lincoln Club, which has endorsed DeMaio, said he expects there to be heavy spending by both sides in the coming weeks.

“We anticipate being outspent so we’re just doing what we can, doing our part, to help our endorsed candidate,” he said. “As much-maligned as developers and quote-unquote other special interests in the private sector may get, the fact is their pockets aren’t as deep as organized labor. The fact that labor is willing to spend so much to get Bob elected is just illustrative of the fact that Bob is someone in whom they see retention of the status quo.”